EU readies legal action against AZ
AstraZeneca has delivered just 31mn of the 120mn Covid-19 vaccine doses that it had promised
The European Union is preparing to start legal action within days against AstraZeneca Plc after the company’s failure to hit vaccine delivery targets undermined the bloc’s inoculation campaign. The move has been discussed for weeks by the bloc’s ambassadors, according to two officials familiar with the discussions. The European Commission has asked governments to join the process, but some aren’t fully on board. Astra delivered just 30 million doses in the first quarter, compared with an original target of 120 million, sparking a huge row with the EU.
BRUSSELS/WASHINGTON: The European Commission is looking to launch legal action against AstraZeneca for under-delivering Covid-19 vaccine doses to the EU, hobbling the bloc’s early roll-out of jabs, diplomats said on Thursday.
The EU executive informed member state envoys of its plans on Wednesday, the diplomats told AFP, confirming information first published by the Politico website.
They said any lawsuit against AstraZeneca would begin in a Belgian court - the jurisdiction agreed under the commission’s contract with the British-Swedish pharmaceutical company.
A European Commission spokesman, Eric Mamer, told journalists that “no decision has yet been taken”. Another spokesman, Stefan De Keersmaecker, added, “As you know, AstraZeneca is not delivering the number of doses which have been agreed upon in the contract... This is one of the reasons why we keep our options open together with member states to take any further steps.”
AstraZeneca has so far delivered 31 million of the 120 million doses it had promised. It has warned it will likewise provide just 70 million of the 180 million more meant to be delivered over the rest of this year.
US weekly jobless claims fall to new one-year low
The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits last week dropped to a one-year low, suggesting layoffs were subsiding and strengthening expectations for another month of job growth in April.
But the labour market recovery has a long way to go, with the report from the labour department showing at least 17.4mn people were collecting unemployment checks in early April.
Initial claims for unemployment benefits decreased 39,000 to a seasonally adjusted 547,000 for the week ended April 17, the lowest since mid-March 2020.
Pressure on US to lift IPR protections on vaccines
The Biden administration is weighing an appeal from progressive Democrats to accelerate global access to Covid-19 vaccines by supporting a waiver of IPR protections, a move opposed by big drugmakers.
Lawmakers last week called on President Joe Biden to back a proposal before the WTO that seeks a broad waiver from obligations on the protection of IP rights. The lawmakers and allies including labour unions argue that the plan - backed by India, South Africa, and more than 50 other countries - would save more lives.